Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1887-03-17
on A COUGARS TRAIL.
BYRAN'S PEOPLE TERRORIHED
BY 4 STRANGE BEAST.

Huge Tracks i'm the Roads aud Along
the Strsams--shesp and Costs Killed
and Carried OF Bodi1y--Armed Men
with Dogs Hunt the Animal Down
An Immense Panther Killed and An
other Believed to be at Large.
The people living in the southern part
OF Bryan county have been excited over
the ravages of some tremendous Wild
beast that has played havoc among their
stock. Sheep have been found dead In the
fields with their necks broken. Some
have been carried of bodily. Immense
tracks were seen where the huge animal
came out of thickets and crossed the
roads and streams, but nobody was able
to tell what il was,
Tne slaughter among the sheen was al
fret believed 10 be the work OF dogs, but
the huge tracks and The manner OF the
slaughter indicated that il was by some
other animal.
Mr., h. 5. Butler, of Pine Hill, about II
miles south OF Ways Station aud q miles
from savannah, Ca ne into the city yester-
day. To IA MORNING NEWS reporter he
related the story OF the chase and cap
ture OF the beast which has terrorzed the
people in that part of the county for the
past two months.
Mrs. Underwood, an elderly lady who
lives at Pine Hill, left her home sunday
afternoon to visit a neighbours house
about half q mile distant. She did not
return until about ~ O'Clock Sunday
night. When she went away in the after.
noon she LETT "a herd of goats penned in
yard back of the house.
KILLED HERD OF GOATS.
The next morning two OF them were
found dead vita their threats cut and
their necks broken. Two were alive and
the rest OF the herd Was missing. A
search was made beyond the house, and
about 100 yards toward Pine Hill creek
another was found, baving apparently
been killed In the same way as the two
that were found In the yard.
Mir. William Phillips, who is the near.
eet neIghbor to Mrs. Underwood, was no.
titled, and also Mr.. Butler. VINO lives
about mile and q half away. 1t was
evident that the goats had not been kill
ed by dogs, but by some powerful beast,
and party was orGanlzed to hunt down
the animal, whatever it WAS.
AN ARMED PARTY.
Seven men, well armed and with
pack oil hounds, started out about noon
on Monday. Mrs. Underwood's place is
about 400 yards from Pine Hill creek,
across which on Dir. Henry Remsharps
place, "Watertord," is a dense thicket
of about seventy.five acres. The ami
mails tracks when he lett the house were
III the direction of the creek, and 1t was
pretty certain that he was lodged in
the thicket.
As soon as the party crossed the stream
the hounds struck trail, which they fol-
lowed hardly more than twenty minutes
before they came to bay. The thIcket
was filled with underbrush, and before
the hunters closed up, the dogs broke and
again took the trail.
IN DENSE THICKKT.
In ten minutes they came to bay again,
but broke before the hunters closed.
They took another trail and followed 1t a
snort time and then freed their game.
Mr., Butler was ahead OF the others,
and as he came up large animal leaped
from tree few feet from where ne was
standing anon z the dogs and ran into an
underbush. MIR. Butler said his first
thought was that 1t was a tiger. The
dogs broke and followed, and the animal
was again freed about 800 yards further
on. The hunters spread out and sur
rounded the tree. AS they closed In the
animal was discovered in fork OF two
branches, some distance from the ground,
braced on his Launches ready to leap.
RAISED THEIR GUNS.
The men raised their guns. The first
shot struck the animal In tie neck and
brought him TO the ground. AS he fell
six ether shots were fired, and the beast
lay dead at the hunters feet. 1t proved
to be an immense panther, weighing 200
pounds, standing feet inches from the
ground, and measuring feet inches
from tip to tip. 1t was az big load as
the men could carry out OF the thickst.
The mystery of the goats was solved,
for in the panther's stomach two Of them
were found-skln, flesh and bones--the
cougars breakfast. The animals mate
is believed to be somewhere in the vicin-
ity, and party is being organized to
hunt il down.
THE PEOPLE ALARMED.
People who have lived in the southern
part OF the county for forty years say that
they have never seen or heard of y panther
there before, and they were naturally
much alarmed. On his way to Savannah
Mr.. Butler learned that the engineers on
the Savannah, Florida and Western rail-
way have reported seeing a strange anil
NAL cross the track several times near
Ways Station, but they were never able
to describe it or tell what it was.
FROM Rev. Joha Aathe,ca, Pastor ". E. Church